NKGen Biotech Receives U.S. FDA Fast Track Designation for Troculeucel for the Treatment of Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease

February 12, 2025 at 08:00 AM EST

The Fast Track designation accelerates troculeucel’s path to U.S. FDA submission for the treatment of patients with moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

NKGen will benefit from increased FDA interactions, enhanced visibility and potential eligibility for Accelerated Approval, Priority Review, and Rolling Review of the regulatory dossier, with a faster path to market for troculeucel.

SANTA ANA, Calif., Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NKGen Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: NKGN) (“NKGen” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative autologous and allogeneic natural killer (“NK”) cell therapeutics, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has granted Fast Track designation for the investigation of troculeucel, ex vivo expanded autologous NK cell therapy, for the treatment of moderate Alzheimer’s disease (“AD”). FDA Fast Track designation is intended to accelerate the development and review process for therapies addressing serious health conditions and unmet medical needs and offers hope for faster access to promising new treatments.

“We are pleased with the FDA’s decision to grant Fast Track designation for troculeucel. This decision underscores the significant unmet need for effective treatments for patients with moderate AD. We specifically targeted the moderate stage population as they represent about 30% of all Alzheimer’s cases and most, if not all, of the current focus has been on early/mild patients,” said Paul Y. Song, MD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NKGen. “This designation comes after promising safety and efficacy results from our Phase 1 trial, which shows early signs of clinical benefit in patients treated with troculeucel. Receiving Fast Track designation will significantly accelerate the drug development process, bringing us one step closer to delivering this promising therapy to AD patients in need, and ensuring faster access to a potentially life-changing treatment.”

NKGen is currently enrolling patients in its Phase 2a trial for moderate AD and expects to share updated clinical data by the end of 2025.

About Fast Track Designation

The FDA Fast Track designation is intended to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drug candidates to treat serious medical conditions and fulfill unmet medical needs. To qualify for this designation, both clinical and non-clinical data must demonstrate the drug candidate’s potential to address the identified medical need. A drug granted Fast Track status may benefit from enhanced communication with the FDA throughout the development process, and, if applicable criteria are met, may also qualify for Accelerated Approval and Priority Review as well as for a Rolling Review of the regulatory dossier.

About Troculeucel

Troculeucel is a novel cell-based, patient specific ex vivo expanded autologous NK cell, immunotherapeutic drug candidate. NKGen is developing troculeucel for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and a broad range of cancers. Troculeucel is the International Nonproprietary Name (“INN”) for SNK01 assigned by the World Health Organization (“WHO”). The WHO INN approval of troculeucel establishes a universally recognized nonproprietary drug name for SNK01 and marks a significant step on our journey toward bringing this therapy to market.

About NKGen Biotech

NKGen is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative autologous and allogeneic NK cell therapeutics. NKGen is headquartered in Santa Ana, California, USA. For more information, please visit www.nkgenbiotech.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “continue”, “expect”, “estimate”, “may”, “plan”, “outlook”, “future” and “project” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s plans and expected timing for developing troculeucel and SNK02, including the expected timing of completing and announcing further results from its ongoing clinical studies; and the Company’s expected timing for developing its product candidates and potential benefits of its product candidates. Risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include: the Company’s ability to execute its plans and strategies; risks related to performing clinical studies; the risk that initial and interim results of a clinical study do not necessarily predict final results and that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues, following more comprehensive reviews of the data, and as more patient data become available; potential delays in the commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical studies and the reporting of data therefrom; the risk that studies will not be completed as planned; the risk that the abstract will not be published as planned including delays in timing, format, or accessibility; and NKGen’s ability to raise additional funding to complete the development of its product candidates. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in the Company’s filings and reports, which may be accessed for free by visiting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov and on the Company’s website under the subheading “Investors—Financial and Filings”. Investors should take such risks into account and should not rely on forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

Internal Contact:
Denise Chua, MBA, CLS, MLS (ASCP)
SVP, Corporate Affairs
949-396-6830
dchua@nkgenbiotech.com

External Contacts:
Chris Calabrese
Managing Director
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
ccalabrese@lifesciadvisors.com

Kevin Gardner
Managing Director
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
kgardner@lifesciadvisors.com